Nick Woltemade says he has no regrets about moving to Newcastle, insisting he is happy at the club after a move to Bayern Munich failed to materialise.
The Germany international joined Newcastle from Stuttgart in a club-record £69m deal late in the transfer window, despite Bayern having shown strong interest earlier in the summer. The Bundesliga champions were unwilling to meet Stuttgart’s valuation, which opened the door for Newcastle to complete the signing.
“When I realised that [the transfer to Bayern] probably wasn’t going to happen, I said to myself: Okay, then so be it,” said Woltemade. “Everything in life has a purpose.”
“I’m now really happy to be in Newcastle. That wouldn’t have happened otherwise. In hindsight, I’m happy that it turned out that way. I believe that everything happens for a reason.”
The 23-year-old has scored seven goals in 21 appearances in all competitions since arriving on Tyneside, though his recent form has dipped. He has found the net just once in his last 10 matches and endured a difficult afternoon in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to rivals Sunderland, scoring an own goal.
Woltemade said he joined the Magpies after he had conversations with head coach Eddie Howe, who explained the project in the north east of England to him.
“When my agent told me about Newcastle’s interest, I was at home in Stuttgart. I was immediately interested and wanted to hear more,” said the German.
“Then I had some very good conversations with Eddie Howe, who is just a great person, and afterwards I immediately felt: I’m going to do it! In the end, everything happened quite quickly.”
